Innovation

It all started from October 9 to October 11. Besides, many company helped during those days, there were workshops in order to help draw the design of the technology and even mentors from the Africa’s top technology experts.

Further, during this week, many aspirants registered online in order to participate at this event. For three weeks, they have to come up with ideas related to the main themes which were financial inclusion and the development of women and youth skills.

Therefore, it impacts many of the UN Sustainable Development Goals like “Affordable and clean energy”. For instance, one of the four winners of that year BioPRO, is an intervention seeking to help rural people to get access to energy and electricity.

Again, this weekend helps young people to show what they are capable of and centralize that energy to make something useful and sustainable for the World.

Inspiration

The African Development Bank is one of the five major multilateral development banks in the world that provides assistance to its regional member countries with a view to helping them achieve their development goals. Even though, “the most important thing is the resources, the financial resources” (Massamba Diene), the values carried by the African Development Bank which are dignity for all Africans by fighting against their poverty by setting development project or integrity by fighting against corruption in all its forms or even a work value for an industrialisation of the African continent to ensure the well-being of Africans matter.

As the President said, “We want big ideas to generate big wins, and that means taking big risks”. It means that one of the goal of this event is also to empower young people, he wants them to take risks, try, fail, in order to come up with something big. This is the whole idea of this event. Besides, the African Development Bank will grant the best ideas with a financial help and also, help them launch their idea in the market. “As the African Development Bank, we want to look at ways in which we can create accelerator funds to incubate these ideas”, said the AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina.

Overall impact

This event helped launch four innovations in 2015 and open the gates for new innovations.

Besides, in 2016 the African Development Bank held an award ceremony for innovative ideas which aim to improve the Bank business operations. This event promotes a new organizational structure, it goals is to change the structure, the way the African Development Bank does business with its counterparts.

More recently, was held the third Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation in Cairo, Egypt. During this meeting, the African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina said, “Africa needs to promote a culture of innovation driven by Africa’s youth.” Therefore, the goal of this meeting is to support the development of young African people Education. At the end of this Forum was written the “Cairo declaration” which keeps the commitments of the participants.

For instance, the INNOPitch held in 2016 helped put in place, “an electronic solution to digital document workflow aimed at achieving a paperless and environment friendly work environment; the establishment of a nursery in the Bank’s premises to provide childcare for mothers with young children; the development of a new leadership model; the development of gender and diaspora bonds; and “From black to green”, a proposal to reduce the Bank’s carbon footprint” (AfDB innovation awards aimed at promoting a new organisational culture).

Business benefit

This initiative had many benefits.

Firstly, it gave the opportunity to young African people to conceive and be a part of something big which will help grow Africa.

Secondly, the African Development Bank upgraded its structure thanks to all the ideas of this young people.

Therefore, because the business held an innovation weekend, many applications has been launched like “PayFree, a multiplex platform for payments; La Ruche, a marketplace for artisans to sell their wares; Coliba, a mobile platform for managing urban waste; and BioPRO, an intervention seeking to help rural people get access to energy and electricity” (AfDB stages first Tech Innovation Weekend in Côte d’Ivoire). By hosting this kind of events, the African Development Bank enhances it image and benefit directly from those ideas (for example INNOPitch).

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Social and environmental benefit

Thanks to this kind of event which promote innovation, human lives can be improve. For instance, BioPRO has changed the lives of many rural people.

Also, the forum held recently, engaged all his participants on African people. Has Sarah Anyang Agbor said “Our greatest potential is our people! Africa is in a position to harvest the fruits of a demographic dividend, especially the young population, whose energy, creativity and courage must drive Africa’s development. Investing in their education, technical competences and training therefore remains critical to us”.

Because of those event, a declaration was written to help reach all the UN sustainable development goals in Africa. For example, it aim to “Increase relevant investment in higher education institutions and recapitalize public research organizations”.

Interview

Massamba Diene, Manager, Strategy Department